Key Takeaways
Seven UK banks completed the world's first interbank customer transactions using tokenized sterling deposits via the GBTD initiative.
According to BlockchainReporter, seven of the United Kingdom's largest banks have completed the world's first interbank customer transactions using tokenized sterling deposits. Announced by industry body UK Finance on September 24, the initiative moved regulated commercial bank money onto shared blockchain rails.
The live payments occurred through the Great British Tokenised Deposit initiative, connecting Barclays, HSBC UK, Lloyds Banking Group, Monzo, Nationwide, NatWest, and Santander on a platform built by Quant. Lloyds, NatWest, and Barclays completed two remortgage transactions using automated fund locks and releases. Meanwhile, a separate three-bank group including HSBC simulated an online marketplace customer-to-customer purchase.
Jana Mackintosh, UK Finance's managing director of payments and innovation, stated that the transactions demonstrated practical benefits and contingent payments. Unlike stablecoins, tokenized deposits remain liabilities of the issuing bank with conventional legal protections. The Bank of England has encouraged this approach as a safer alternative to private stablecoins.
Participants plan to establish a dedicated company and governance rulebook, aiming to issue three digital bonds in the first quarter of 2027 settled using tokenized deposits.
Source & Fact-Check Note
https://blockchainreporter.net/uk-banks-first-interbank-tokenized-deposit-transactions/
